from Reason Magazine online,  Time Smears Charles Koch in Headline; Changes Headline, Still Misses His Point by Brian Doherty

What Charles Koch said:

“I think we can have growth rates in excess of 4%. When I’m talking about growth rates, I’m not talking about that GDP, which counts poison gas the same as it counts penicillin,” the 79-year-old industrialist said, veering off his prepared remarks. “What a monstrous measure this is. If we make more bombs, the GDP goes up — particularly if we explode them.”

Charles Koch is clearly talking about a better way to measure GDP.

The story read,  “Charles Koch says U.S. can bomb its way to $100,000 salaries: Building bombs and using them is one way to growth, the billionaire suggests to allies.”

Time tried to correct their malfeasance with “Koch was making the broader point that economic growth compounds from year to year. A modest gain early pays greater dividends later. To that end, Koch is trying to make 4% a target for growth.” Clearly they still missed the point being made about the way GDP is measured.

HKO

This is journalistic malfeasance of the highest order. Out of blind bias or blatant ignorance Time takes words out of context to make Charles Koch into the textbook villain that the left maintains.

You may expect this from a a third rate blogger, but a professional outlet like Time should be ashamed.  The writer and an editor should be fired. At the least a formal apology should be made.  All we get is a notice at the end of the article: Note: The headline on this story has been updated to more accurately reflect the content of the article. 

This is shoddy journalism unworthy of a magazine of Time’s reputation.  It is becoming more common of media institutions with no intellectual diversity; another way of saying they work in a bubble. It is the reason that so much of the media has lost so much respect.

The original headline was, “Charles Koch says U.S. can bomb its way to $100,000 salaries: Building bombs and using them is one way to growth, the billionaire suggests to allies.”

This headline makes a side comment out of context the subject of the article. A much better headline would read, “ Charles Koch believes a true 4% growth is attainable.” This is really the central theme of his address. But Time clearly prefers to demonize and play to the sinister narrative of Koch than accurately report what he said.

If you go to the story now, it has the less blatantly maligning head: “Charles Koch Mocks Common Measure of Prosperity.”

Even that is misleading. Why not “ Military spending distorts GDP according to Koch.”  It is far more accurate but less demonizing of Koch, which seems to be their greater purpose. But as a headline even that is an inaccurate portrayal of Koch’s address.

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